[TheVillageBlacksmith]

I am posting this to raise awareness.

My friend is an 87 year old woman living alone who received a phone call from a man claiming that I was in trouble because I was in an accident because I was texting while driving and I hit a parked car with a pregnant woman in the vehicle. He claimed that I told him that she was my grandmother and asked for the spelling of my name to ensure that she was authorized to receive information about the case. She believed that I was in trouble and did not want to dispute the claim that I am indeed not her grandson, thinking that it would get me in more trouble. He then promised to give her updates on the situation and indeed called her back later that day. He told her that I was in huge trouble because the pregnant lady suffered broken bones and that she must send $14,700 in order to help me. He even had another person come on the phone impersonating me, claiming that he would pay back the money if she helped and could not talk more due to a broken nose and headache from the accident. At this point, he instructed her on how to send the money to help me and to not tell anyone because I would only get in more trouble. The next morning she went to her bank and sent the money as instructed.
A few days after this happened I called my friend to ask if she needed anything, we were both horrified and sickened to learn what happened to her.
Neither of us has any idea how someone could connect the two of us as we have no online or social media connections.
Anyway, the bank, local Law Enforcement can't do anything, for some reason the detective that took the statement found it appropriate to vent to my friend about his problems!!! and turns out because the amount is over 10K it's a federal matter and when you make a claim with the FBI online, they do not even acknowledge receipt of your claim with an email stating that it was received! I found that out when I called the local FBI field office (a week after the claim was filed) and they were able to confirm that the claim was received. Good to know, still no follow-up from them. Sadly they must be overwhelemed...

Does anyone know of other resources or organizations that can help with this matter?

[bagboy]

I curious as to how an 87 year old person can go into their bank, withdraw that much money, and easily send it off into oblivion. What has her bank had to say? Seems to me that the anger expressed towards law enforcement should be shared with her bank.

[Taltarzac725]

About 75% of the land line calls we receive are scams of some kind and it sounds like many people get taken in by these.

Americans lost $29.8 billion to phone scams over the past year

[villagetinker]

You can try seniors against crime, but since the FBI is involved I doubt they will be able to help. I also do not understand how this big of a transfer was made, I friend of mine could not cash a check (hers) for $10k to buy a private sale car that the seller demanded cash. The bank teller should have flagged this, what bank?

[Luggage]

Somehow I doubt the truth of this story. But if it's real it really depends on how the money was sent as the IRS would be able to get involved, and if it was it will sent via mail, then mail inspectors .

[Dust Bunny]

Originally Posted by TheVillageBlacksmith

I am posting this to raise awareness.

My friend is an 87 year old woman living alone who received a phone call from a man claiming that I was in trouble because I was in an accident because I was texting while driving and I hit a parked car with a pregnant woman in the vehicle. He claimed that I told him that she was my grandmother and asked for the spelling of my name to ensure that she was authorized to receive information about the case. She believed that I was in trouble and did not want to dispute the claim that I am indeed not her grandson, thinking that it would get me in more trouble. He then promised to give her updates on the situation and indeed called her back later that day. He told her that I was in huge trouble because the pregnant lady suffered broken bones and that she must send $14,700 in order to help me. He even had another person come on the phone impersonating me, claiming that he would pay back the money if she helped and could not talk more due to a broken nose and headache from the accident. At this point, he instructed her on how to send the money to help me and to not tell anyone because I would only get in more trouble. The next morning she went to her bank and sent the money as instructed.
A few days after this happened I called my friend to ask if she needed anything, we were both horrified and sickened to learn what happened to her.
Neither of us has any idea how someone could connect the two of us as we have no online or social media connections.
Anyway, the bank, local Law Enforcement can't do anything, for some reason the detective that took the statement found it appropriate to vent to my friend about his problems!!! and turns out because the amount is over 10K it's a federal matter and when you make a claim with the FBI online, they do not even acknowledge receipt of your claim with an email stating that it was received! I found that out when I called the local FBI field office (a week after the claim was filed) and they were able to confirm that the claim was received. Good to know, still no follow-up from them. Sadly they must be overwhelemed...

Does anyone know of other resources or organizations that can help with this matter?

I am also puzzled about how the connection was made between the two people. Could it be that her discarded mail was being read or perhaps a casual conversation at the hairdresser was overheard? It may be a person who visits her at home to provide some type of service like health care. Good detective work probably would solve the case.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by TheVillageBlacksmith

I am posting this to raise awareness.

My friend is an 87 year old woman living alone who received a phone call from a man claiming that I was in trouble because I was in an accident because I was texting while driving and I hit a parked car with a pregnant woman in the vehicle. He claimed that I told him that she was my grandmother and asked for the spelling of my name to ensure that she was authorized to receive information about the case. She believed that I was in trouble and did not want to dispute the claim that I am indeed not her grandson, thinking that it would get me in more trouble. He then promised to give her updates on the situation and indeed called her back later that day. He told her that I was in huge trouble because the pregnant lady suffered broken bones and that she must send $14,700 in order to help me. He even had another person come on the phone impersonating me, claiming that he would pay back the money if she helped and could not talk more due to a broken nose and headache from the accident. At this point, he instructed her on how to send the money to help me and to not tell anyone because I would only get in more trouble. The next morning she went to her bank and sent the money as instructed.
A few days after this happened I called my friend to ask if she needed anything, we were both horrified and sickened to learn what happened to her.
Neither of us has any idea how someone could connect the two of us as we have no online or social media connections.
Anyway, the bank, local Law Enforcement can't do anything, for some reason the detective that took the statement found it appropriate to vent to my friend about his problems!!! and turns out because the amount is over 10K it's a federal matter and when you make a claim with the FBI online, they do not even acknowledge receipt of your claim with an email stating that it was received! I found that out when I called the local FBI field office (a week after the claim was filed) and they were able to confirm that the claim was received. Good to know, still no follow-up from them. Sadly they must be overwhelemed...

Does anyone know of other resources or organizations that can help with this matter?

Did this happen to you personally or was this a narrative copied from the Internet?

[ElDiabloJoe]

Originally Posted by TheVillageBlacksmith

...
Anyway, the bank, local Law Enforcement can't do anything, for some reason the detective that took the statement found it appropriate to vent to my friend about his problems!!! and turns out because the amount is over 10K it's a federal matter and when you make a claim with the FBI online, they do not even acknowledge receipt of your claim with an email stating that it was received! I found that out when I called the local FBI field office (a week after the claim was filed) and they were able to confirm that the claim was received. Good to know, still no follow-up from them. Sadly they must be overwhelemed...

Does anyone know of other resources or organizations that can help with this matter?

Not just overwhelmed, but apathetic and largely useless. All the federal agencies are like this. Try telling the Secret Service you found a counterfeit $100 bill. Snooze fest. Try telling the Post Office someone stole your mail. You know what happens when you report things to federal agencies? They ask the local cops to take the report and send them a copy - which never sees the light of day. A waste of everyone's time.

[spd2918]

What exactly do people think the police and FBI can do when someone voluntarily sends money overseas? What mechanism of investigation may they use?

I, too, am surprised the bank didn't call BS on this withdrawal. I had to talk to a bank manager to pull 12 grand cash when I bought a car. They want to know there is no foul play.

By the way, the FBI will only take the information for statistical purposes. They don't hop in a plane and travel to Nigeria.

If a relative is that out of touch with reality that they'd send that much money, then maybe its time to have a trustee manage it for them.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by spd2918

What exactly do people think the police and FBI can do when someone voluntarily sends money overseas? What mechanism of investigation may they use?

I, too, am surprised the bank didn't call BS on this withdrawal. I had to talk to a bank manager to pull 12 grand cash when I bought a car. They want to know there is no foul play.

By the way, the FBI will only take the information for statistical purposes. They don't hop in a plane and travel to Nigeria.

If a relative is that out of touch with reality that they'd send that much money, then maybe its time to have a trustee manage it for them.

Couldn't they call that FBI International team on the TV show?

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by Dust Bunny

I am also puzzled about how the connection was made between the two people. Could it be that her discarded mail was being read or perhaps a casual conversation at the hairdresser was overheard? It may be a person who visits her at home to provide some type of service like health care. Good detective work probably would solve the case.

this scam has been around for some time. my late father-in-law was targeted when he came to visit, & stayed in st. pete.. in this case, someone phoned him in the middle of the night claiming to be my daughter, who had an auto accident, -it was her fault, & nose was broken, which is why she didn't sound like 'herself'.
it just so happened dad had visited my daughter when she was @ western new england, & this is where i think the connection was made--call came 1 week after the visit. it was a very strange coincidence.

[TheVillageBlacksmith]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

You can try seniors against crime, but since the FBI is involved I doubt they will be able to help. I also do not understand how this big of a transfer was made, I friend of mine could not cash a check (hers) for $10k to buy a private sale car that the seller demanded cash. The bank teller should have flagged this, what bank?

The money was sent on Friday, by Monday morning my friend returned to the bank (Truist) to let them know that she had been scammed. Before they took any action they had her sign a few documents that apparently relieve them of any liability. Additionally, the teller that handled the transaction was not there as she was sent to a different branch temporarily.
My friend did mention that the folks at the bank, including the branch manager, were not surprised and unempathetic. She got the feeling that this type of thing happens very frequently. This is why I am putting this incident out there so that others are aware and hopefully avoid something like this.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

The sad thing is that people refuse to believe this actually happens. It is one of the OLDEST phone scams against seniors, and it's pretty successful.

I was hit with the "grandma is that you?" scam a couple of years ago. I swore at the guy and hung up. How did I know it wasn't legit? Because I don't have any children - and therefore no grandchildren.

This is a HUGE scam. If you've never heard of it, then you could some day become a victim of it. Be grateful you're learning about it now.

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by Dust Bunny

I am also puzzled about how the connection was made between the two people. Could it be that her discarded mail was being read or perhaps a casual conversation at the hairdresser was overheard? It may be a person who visits her at home to provide some type of service like health care. Good detective work probably would solve the case.

A postal employee was caught stealing outgoing mail at one of The Villages postal stations. Quite a lot, apparently. So it's possible.

[twoplanekid]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

The sad thing is that people refuse to believe this actually happens. It is one of the OLDEST phone scams against seniors, and it's pretty successful.

I was hit with the "grandma is that you?" scam a couple of years ago. I swore at the guy and hung up. How did I know it wasn't legit? Because I don't have any children - and therefore no grandchildren.

This is a HUGE scam. If you've never heard of it, then you could some day become a victim of it. Be grateful you're learning about it now.

When I operated a computer store in Ohio, many many customers of mine related this story to me of this same scam as well as my father-in-law who did not fall for it. My son was needing money and ..... . It have been used for well over thirty years as a phone and Email scam with many people still falling for it.